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What is
Transfiguration
?
Business
Business Transformation is a concept that has been around for decades, and in fact, has many predecessors - TQM / reengineering / restructuring / cultural change / turnaround. Today, 'Business Transformation' is perhaps the most commonly used expression, yet strangely, the term does not have a universal definition to describe it.
The various definitions provided are broad, as they are colourful; however, fortunately there is a high level of consonance around the underlying objectives and motives. In spite of this, advocates commonly lean towards a definition suited to their respective agenda (eg. an IT consulting firm places emphasis on the digital capabilities afforded through ERP and system implementations, whilst strategy experts focus more broadly on reinventing the entire business model). Hence, there exists numerous interpretations and consequently, scope for misuse and misapplication.
Business Transfiguration: Services
First, what is Business Transformation?
Business Transformation also known as TQM / reengineering / restructuring / cultural change / turnaround describes a major shift, realignment, or fundamental change in a business.
Business Transfiguration: About
Let’s dive deeper into the intriguing subject of Business Transformation.
What do the big veteran consultancies say about Business Transformation?
Further insight is offered by senior McKinsey partners in "Why your next transformation should be ‘all in'". The study explains that business transformation is about ‘changing what your company is and does’, not merely about productivity advancement efforts to strengthen your bottom line. It ‘requires understanding where the value is shifting in your industry (and in others), spotting opportunities in the inflection points, and taking purposeful actions to seize them’.
This exposition aligns with Deloitte’s diffusion in "Thinking big with business transformation" - 'It is the opportunity to define a bold ambition that goes beyond incremental change - the opportunity to rethink your business and operating models to deliver breakthrough value. It involves strategic decisions that affect where you’ll grow, how your organisation operates, and what kinds of performance improvement you can target'.
In practice, what does Business Transformation actually mean?
Business transformation requires incumbent organisations to embark on strategic, wholesale, seismic paradigm shifts to accelerate change and growth beyond pre-defined, incremental improvements. It is bold and broad; it is a fundamental change, shift, or realignment in a business; it cuts across all functions within the organisation and demands a top-down recalibration and reconstruction of everything it does.
When it works, it holds immense potential to yield tremendous rewards - think of well-documented success stories such as Apple and Netflix. However when it fails, due to its broad scope, the results can be catastrophic. It’s an all-in exercise, which urges extreme conscientiousness and caution upon prospectors.
Business Transfiguration: Services
Business Transformation is a fundamental change, shift, or realignment in a business.
Business Transfiguration: About
So, what is the rationale for Business Transformation?
In today’s dynamic and disruptive business environment, a business may find itself arriving at a precipice or intersection where it encounters a major or potential impediment to its current or future performance – often called an ‘Inflection-point'.
This may arise due to a wide range of reasons such as increased competition, severe economic conditions, disruptive technologies, regulatory compliance, or due to positive changes such as new strategic potentialities, or IT initiatives. Business transformation aims to help an organisation make a wholesale strategic pivot to generate new value, maximize performance, reduce costs, increase efficiency and productivity, to compete more effectively, and better align its with its strategy.
What is it not?
Business Transformation is not the same as conventional business change, or change management. Whilst often used inter-changeably, they are not the same. The former refers to a fundamental realignment implemented through a portfolio of integrated and interdependent initiatives, with the goal to reinvent the entire organisation. The latter is concerned with executing a defined change through discrete initiatives, involving a measured shift in the way the business operates.
What does it involve?
Business Transformation involves a comprehensive and integrative change to a company’s (whole business or SBU) strategic, operational, cultural, and digital processes. It is a holistic cross-functional process that essentially requires a remodel of its personnel (organisational, cultural), processes, and technology functions, and includes multiple underlying projects or initiatives each addressing specific process, team/dept, or technology.
Is this what everyone should be doing in the current climate?
Certainly, business transformation potentially yields immense benefits, however, it inevitably entails high risks due to the large scale, high costs, high commitment, and high unpredictability involved. It is essentially a foray into unknown possibilities, hence, the outcomes are never guaranteed, and the risks of failure can be catastrophic.
Business Transfiguration: Services
The most critical threat to a business may be a complete transformation of itself.
We do things differently...
Our view on Business Transformation
At A New Level Luxury, we believe that a full-scale business transformation is not always the right solution for every business - in fact the most critical threat to a business may be a complete transformation of itself. If a business embarks on a transformation effort in the absence of a rigorous, systematic assessment of its overarching corporate and business strategy, informed by a comprehensive analysis of its strategic context and choices. it may eventually collapse. By failing to conduct a thorough diagnosis prior to embarking on a business transformation, a business is likely to arrive at an ill-fitting aftermath.
An Introduction to
BUSINESS
TRANSFIGURATION
At A New Level Luxury, we believe in Business Transfiguration. It is a proprietary concept which we define as 'a change of form in a business to an improved and elevated state'. Fundamentally, this means, being the best. We believe that 'best’ does not however refer to a fixed position, or destination; but to a pursuit for excellence. It is a passion for a better way of doing things; a continuous quest for an improved and elevated state of being. Hence, it is not focused on exclusive advantage, but on achieving a positive outcome for everyone, both today, and tomorrow.
Consequently, our ethos is to deliver positive change and substantive results that go beyond financial performance. We believe that all businesses have a responsibility to conduct their operations in a manner that contributes to the betterment of society, and luxury businesses have both the opportunity and responsibility to play a key leadership role in the shift towards a more sustainable future for all, as stated in Walpole's Sustainability Manifesto.
For businesses that are willing to rise to the challenge, we provide the support to achieve this. We believe that this may require large, sweeping transformation. Or, it may require smaller, structured, discrete changes. What is important is to be heading in the right direction for positive change, because responsible businesses are positioned to be the best businesses.
Business Transfiguration: Services
Business Transfiguration: About
Business Transfiguration is a change of form in a business, to an improved and elevated state.
The Foundations for
BUSINESS
TRANSFIGURATION
The first and most important step, is to comprehensively assess how well a business is doing in terms of its environmental, social and governance performance. In view of the current global macroeconomic crisis, businesses can no longer afford to overlook or underplay the long-term significance of ESG. A lack of action could be a threat to a business, whilst conversely, by having the foresight to be proactive, a business discovers immense potential to build a competitive advantage.
Whilst financial performance continues to be the primary goal of businesses, ESG will indubitably continue to increase in its impact and influence into the future. Hence, a business' corporate agenda must be underpinned by ESG alignment to secure its future sustainability. Our firm view is that businesses that desire long-term success need to stay abreast of their ESG scores, and continuously review how to stay ahead with positive sustainable practices that align with their business goals.
This is why, at A New Level Luxury, we offer a FREE ESG Assessment and Blueprint (Phase 1 of our LUXE-ESG Programme) to every luxury SME business that we work with, across any of our programmes in Core Consulting or Special Projects. We believe that in the current climate of unprecedented disruption, businesses must embrace change - but not just any change, it must be the right change; positive change; change for good. This is why, we don't simply promote Business Transformation; but Business Transfiguration - a change of form to an improved and elevated state; for everyone, today and tomorrow.
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